Read any good parenting books recently?

[motherinferior]

As part of a couple of articles I'm writing on the first few days/weeks/months of parenthood (for Junior Pregnancy and Baby)I've been asked to recommend books and other resources. THis is only a minor part of the article, but I am actually very bad on parenting books; mainly because I spent my first pregnancy in major denial (literally - I only really got my head (let alone anything else) round the fact I was having a baby when I was in second-stage labour) and by the second time, of course, I'd been there and done that. I do have a few books in mind - and when is the new Mumsnet one out, btw? - but any recommendations would be appreciated. I'm thinking of the basic how-to stuff, you know, when you're confronted with this screaming child and NO idea what to do.

Off the top of my head:

The best how to new baby book I've read was actually a joke one - Your New Baby: An Owner's Manual by Martin Baxendale. It's got funny little cartoons and points out the basic truths about new babies., ie, they poo, feed, cry and sleep (though not when you want them to).

More general parenting books I've found useful and informative are Toddler Taming (not all of it), That's My Boy! by Jenni Murray (fantastic book on bringing up boys, infinitely superior to Steve Biddulph's Raising Boys). I found Kate Figes' Life After Birth incredibly interesting (I know many people consider it paints a very negative picture of new motherhood, but tbh, my experience of new motherhood WAS very negative so it rang a lot of bells with me).

I seem to remember one of my friends saying she'd found the NCT baby book (don't know title) very useful. And did you know there's now a Haynes' manual for babies? I flicked through it in Waterstones the other day and it seemed quite amusing.

I would steer well clear of Mad Miriam Stoppard though (and Gina Ford...BUT THAT'S JUST MY OPINION!!!)

I think the Baby Whisperer by Tracey Hogg is worth its weight in gold! I found her guidance on crying cues really useful in those first couple of weeks when everything was so new and you were so desperate to understand what the different cries meant.
Now that DS is 5 months old I'm again reading through it for sleep training guidance, and so far it really seems to be working wonders (fingers crossed ).

This may not be the answer but I LOVE "what should I feed my baby" by Suzannah Olivier..... really useful and far better than Karmel !

Hogg and Ford are basically very similar.... what about E. Pantley - the no cry solution
I have NOT read it but keep hearing praises.

Are you me Marthamoo - I agree totally - especially the Your New Baby Manual. We couldn't stop laughing ... loved the picture of a heavily pg woman, and underneath "packaging, do not discard, this might come in useful"

I think I looked occassionally at Miriam & Gina in the first few weeks, but after that read stuff like Jenni Murray's book, Stephen Biddulph etc.

Junior's my favourite magazine, by the way. Hope to get into the new pg one soon too ...

I can't believe it is out of print, but this is REALLY worth tracking down on amazon or ABE, MI:

Nikki Bradford & Jean Williams: What they don't tell you about being a mother and looking after babies - the definitive guide to the first two years (HarperCollins, 1994, ISBN 000638398x).

It covers everything for you and the baby: what kinds of alternative therapies are suitable, how to combat exhaustion, hair loss, giant piles, cradle cap, etc etc. My Bible - I love it.

Someone ought to reprint it. Unlike many books published in the 1990s it has hardly dated.

Does this mean we will see a photo of you as a nipper at the front of the next issue? I think we should be told!

one i had when dd was first boren was called "autobiography of a one yera old!".(i think). It is SOOOOOOO funny and really does give an amusing take on what your baby may actually be thinking......there's a hilarious bit about "pause and effect" where a baby will fall ,pause, and wait for all the adults to run to him, it goes on to say that the babys love that moment of complete power over adults

Marina, there's a pic of me and nipper in last issue. The P&B one.

That's really useful, keep 'em coming - yep, dp picked up the Haynes manual the other day (I have no idea why, as he is more than competent with babies and it does not cover How To Cope With Getting Two Children Out In The Mornings, which he appears to find a major challenge every day)

Oh and agree about Mad Miriam. V annoying as my dd1 is called Miriam.

Agree with many of Marthamoo's suggestions - I liked Kate Figes, Jenni Murray and Toddler Taming too and I mostly like Steve Biddulph since one of his major points is that you need to be relatively happy too in order to be a good parent. I think this is often missed in these How To books, it's all endless sacrifice and unbending rules. I also think Miriam Stoppard is mad, ditto Gina mostly. Will post again if I think of anything else that helped me first time round.

Becoming a Mother by Kate Mosse was good too IIRC, though it's a long time since I read it and I lent someone my copy and didn't get it back.

one I found v useful esp re comforting a crying baby and swaddling was "The Happiest Baby" by Harvey Karp

The Rough Guide to Pregnancy by Kaz Cooke - very funny and informative too.

I love Vicky Lovine's "The girlfriend's guide to surviving the first year of motherhood". I think it's written with great sense of humour and it's about how you might feel as a new mother rather than how to take care of your baby. "Planet Parenthood" by Julie Tilsner is also great and written in a similar style as the Vicky Lovine book.

For more practical advise on how to take care of your baby, I like both Penelope Leach and Miriam Stoppard.

Has anyone read 'Dr Spock's Guide to the first Two Years'?

I haven't but someone I work with recommended it but before I rush out and buy it, just wanted to know what you thought?

Agree with Fairymum - my sister leant me a copy of Penelope Leach for my first baby and I found it invaluable - haven't given it back and still refer to it now (3.5 years later). I really like her approach and the way she gives the 'child's eye' view. Some of her practical advice eg wrapping your newborn really worked for me too. Also second Marina's recommendation - I had this book from about 4 months in and what I really liked was the balance between information on caring for your baby and also looking after yourself. Also has really useful stuff on common illnesses and alternative remedies. Surely it's not out of print?

MUM2ELA, I have read a little bit of Doctor Spock and I really like his approach. I think he has inspired people like Miriam Stoppard and Penelope Leach.

I also like the "attachement Parenting" theories. Some of them might be a little over the top and not suit everyone, but I love some of the books. You can find some really good one on

www.naturalchild.org/

I cannot tell you how grateful I am to all of you for this.

Have drafted article and am now having flashbacks to dd1's first 24 hours!